


Like Real People Do

by SparkleMoose



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Autism, Autistic!Tsuna, Because The Author is Autistic too and wanted some goddamn representation, Iemitsu is an eh parent, Iemitsu tries his best, Nana is a good parent, fight me, so he wrote it himself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-07-12 17:40:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7115842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparkleMoose/pseuds/SparkleMoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsuna is autistic. This changes nothing and everything at the same time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chasing The Wings Of Their Terrible Youth

Tsuna is a strange child, Nana thinks, watching her son grab the jar of cinnamon she keeps on the counter and sniff it. Beside Tsuna, there is a large selection of spices seperated into two piles. The cinnamon goes into the pile closest to Tsuna and when Tsuna goes to grab another jar of spices and comes up with nothing Nana giggles.

Her Tsuna is so cute when he’s confused.

Tsuna scrunches up his nose when he finds nothing and lets out a confused wail.

“No baby, shh,” Nana says, rushing over to Tsuna and scooping him up in her arms, “Shhh baby, it’s okay.”

Nana’s soothing does nothing to stop Tsuna from wiggling and trying to get back to his piles of spices.

Nana giggles even as Tsuna squirms in her grip.

Her son might be an excellent chef one day!

* * *

 

Tsuna isn’t like other children, loud noises make him upset, he is far more attached to Nana then most children of five would be and for some reason he is very quiet.

Expect for his tantrums. There isn’t a way to predict them. One moment he’ll be fine and the next he’ll start getting frustrated before exploding and screaming.

One thing Nana notices is that loud noises seem to be a common trigger for these tantrums. Tsuna will either scream in an attempt to block out whatever noise is triggering him or clap him hands over his ears and start to rock while mumbling to himself.

Tsuna is a hard child to raise Nana thinks, remembering the tantrums and screaming happen at least once a month.

But now, with Tsuna curled up under a blanket in his bedroom and sleeping, Nana can’t find herself to mind.

* * *

 

Tsuna makes a face when he touches the new shirt Nana bought him and promptly lets go of it. Letting the shirt fall to the ground while Tsuna begins shaking the hand that touched it.

“Feels blargh,” he tells Nana, “I don’t like it.”

Nana blinks, dots suddenly connecting in her mind.

_Oh._

“Tsuna,” she says, “How do you feel about going to the doctor?”

Tsuna blinks, and Nana swears she can see his mind going a mile a minute.

“Why?” he asks.

“Mommy just wants to see if the doctors can help Tsuna okay?”

Tsuna pauses for a moment before nodding.

“If that’s what Mommy wants.”

* * *

 

Nana had done her thesis in college about children with autism.

It’s a wonder that she didn’t notice the signs of autism in Tsuna sooner.

She takes him in for testing, and isn’t surprised when the results come back saying her child is a high functioning autistic.

Later, she invests in a pair of gloves and headphones for Tsuna.

When Tsuna asks why she bought them for him she smiles.

“They’re to help you,” she says, “The headphones are for when it’s too loud and the gloves are for when you need to touch something that feels blargh.”

“Oh,” Tsuna says, “Like the shirt.”

Nana nods, “Like the shirt.”

Nana might no longer be a psychologist, but she can damn well make sure her child grows up with all the accommodations he needs.

* * *

 

Nana phones Iemitsu and tells him about their sons diagnosis.

Iemitsu doesn’t say anything for a long while and Nana begins to get nervous.

Then-

“I’m coming back home,” Iemitsu says, “I’ll be there sometime this week.”

Nana’s relief at his homecoming is only dampened when Iemitsu shows up with his boss.

* * *

 

“I want my sons flames sealed.”

Nono blinks at Iemitsu’s grim face.

“Why?” he asks.

“He’s autistic,” Iemitsu says, “I don’t want him involved in the Mafia.”

Nono nods, understanding the others reasoning.

“Alright,” he says, “We leave tomorrow.”

* * *

 

Tsuna likes the old man Dad brings home. The old man brings him slime and a twisting toy that Tsuna likes because no matter how hard he presses on it it doesn't hurt!

So when the old man asks Tsuna if he would like a story Tsuna says yes.

Tsuna goes to sleep that night dreaming of people with fire in their hands and gold eyes.

* * *

 

Tsuna is twelve when the word autism actually becomes meaningful for him. He knows he has it, knows that it’s the reason he can’t handle loud noises and that it’s also the reason some textures make him feel like ripping his skin off.

He knows this.

But it’s only when his mother sits him down and has a discussion with him that he understands what it means.

 _Oh,_ he thinks, his mind going blurry the way it does when he’s stressed, _I’m disabled._

* * *

 

The knowledge of his disability changes nothing but everything at the same time.

Tsuna pays more attention to the looks others give him when he rocks or stumbles over his words. He flinches now when people tell him to stop when he can’t quite stop repeating the same word over and over again.

Tsuna still stutters, still finds science fascinating. Still likes the way the words ‘ethereal’, and ‘comatose,’ roll off his tongue.

 He’s still a loner, only now he wonders whether or not it’s because he likes being or alone or because people don’t want to hang out with him.

Knowing he’s disabled changes nothing, but everything all at once.

* * *

 

Tsuna is thirteen when a baby hitman arrives at his door. His mother introduces the baby as his new home tutor and Tsuna scowls.

“Mom,” Tsuna says, “He’s a baby. Babies can’t be tutors.”

The baby, evidently, disagrees, and jumps high enough to hit him on the head.

“Respect your elders Tsuna,” Reborn says, an evil glint in his eye.

Tsuna shudders and wonders what sort of hell course his mother signed him up for.


	2. down down dowm

Reborn knows of Tsuna’s disability.

 

That doesn’t change the fact he’s going to be the boy's tutor.

 

So, he decides to make changes to his usual tutoring methods after he gets to know the boy. Find out what method of learning works best and go with that.

 

Reborn may be a jackass, but he’s also damn good at his job.

 

* * *

 

 

When Reborn shoots Tsuna in the head with a Dying Will Bullet he pretends to not be surprised by what Tsuna shouts.

 

“ _ Be normal with my Dying Will!”  _

 

Tsuna then proceeds to go through the walk to school and the first five minutes of class acting as normal as he could in his underwear. He ignores the stares and whispers and works.

 

Then the bullet wears off and Tsuna realizes where he is, what state of dress he is in.

 

He screams and runs out of the classroom.

 

* * *

 

 

Tsuna decides that he does not like the baby tutor. Tsuna does not like stress, stress is not good for him. It makes him want to curl up into a ball and rock until the stress goes away.

 

He tries not to do that anymore though, the last time he tried he only got beat up worse.

 

He’s Weird-Tsuna after all.

 

But the baby tutor brings stress and chaos and Tsuna hates it.

 

He hates it even more when the baby tutor tells him Tsuna is going to be a mafia boss.

 

Tsuna doesn’t believe him. Them the baby tutor shows him the photos of the previous heirs.

 

Or rather, Reborn shows him the photos of their corpses.

 

Tsuna feels the world go blurry for a second, feels his hands start to shake, flap, he can feel the rocking motions his body is making, and he doesn’t want to panic in front of the baby tutor. He doesn’t want to be different, for his hands to flap, for his body to rock,  _ he doesn’t want it. _

 

Vaguely, he notices that Reborn begins to move toward him. Tsuna scrambles backward until he’s pressed up against the wall and then curls in on himself. He doesn’t want people near him, he tries to tell Reborn this but his tongue won’t work and the words get stuck in his throat and it’s frustrating, so frustrating that Tsuna wants to  _ scream. _

 

Instead he bites his lip until it bleeds. Screaming will draw attention, Tsuna doesn’t want attention, doesn’t want his mother seeing the photo’s of corpses on the table Tsuna has in his room. 

 

Most of all, Tsuna doesn’t want to be a Mafia Boss. He can’t be a Mafia Boss. Can’t take lives or be charge of other people’s lives, he’s just Weird-Tsuna, he can’t do anything other people can do.

 

Tsuna thinks of all the times he’s had a meltdown in school because something wasn’t going the way he had planned out, he thinks of the days where he can barely get out of bed, he thinks of how he can’t understand the nuances behind human interactions and he thinks about how absolutely awful he’d be as the boss of anything.

 

“I can’t,” Tsuna manages to choke out, “I can’t.”

 

“Tsuna,” Reborn says, his voice surprisingly gentle but with a firmness behind it, “You have to.”

 

Reborn sounds like Tsuna’s mother when he speaks like that.

 

Tsuna laughs, almost hysterical, and buries his face in his arms.

 

* * *

 

It takes a while to coax Tsuna out from where he’s curled up, but when Reborn does manage it Tsuna looks at him with a weariness in his eyes that would have surprised Reborn had Reborn not known how awful humans, even civilians, can be toward those who are disabled.

 

Tsuna is tired of being treated differently, tired of being made fun of and looked down upon and it’s taken it’s toll on the young man.

 

“Why me?” Tsuna asks, the weariness in his eyes seeping into his voice.

 

“The other heirs all died,” Reborn says, taking careful note of how Tsuna flinches at the last word, “You’re all that’s left.”

 

Tsuna laughs. It is not a nice laugh.

 

“So I’m the one they chose to place this on?” Tsuna demands, his voice cracking,  “They chose a disabled kid who can barely go to a normal school to pass their mantle onto? What about my father? What about him?”

 

“Your father has other obligations,” Reborn points out, and remembers that while Tsuna’s attendance wasn’t stellar he also took far too many absences to be average.

 

Tsuna snorts.

 

“Let me guess, he’s involved in a different mafia thing.”

 

“He is.”

 

_ “Fuck.” _

 

There is a moment of silence before Tsuna speaks again.

 

“Even if I refuse,” Reborn is going to let him think that he can refuse for the moment, “People will come after my mother and I won’t they?”

 

“They will,” Reborn says, and doesn’t bother to sugarcoat it, “There is a chance that both your mother and you will wind up dead by the time the year is over if you don’t accept my training.”

 

Tsuna sighs.

 

“Fine,” he says and he sounds so tired that Reborn thinks that it’s a miracle that Tsuna hasn’t tried to kill himself or someone else already, “I’ll do it.”

  
  



End file.
